


It Takes Two (To Tango)

by Triss_Hawkeye



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Case Fic, Chronic Pain, Dancing, Gen, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:21:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27113920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triss_Hawkeye/pseuds/Triss_Hawkeye
Summary: Their latest number sees Finch and Reese enroll in a therapeutic Argentinian tango class.Fic is unfinished and abandoned.
Relationships: Harold Finch & John Reese
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5
Collections: Good Intentions: Abandoned and Unfinished WIPs





	It Takes Two (To Tango)

**Author's Note:**

> Written June 2018. Set early season 3.

“We have a new number, Mr Reese.”

Harold didn’t even have to look up to know that it was John walking into the library, but he did so anyway with a nod of acknowledgement and then a smile as John deposited a paper bag on the desk next to him.

“New bagel place opened.”

“How very thoughtful of you.” Bear’s ears pricked and he sat up hopefully. “Not for you, Bear,” Harold added, as the dog lay back down with a petulant whine. “Honestly, you’d think we didn’t feed him.”

John smirked back from where he was stood by the board, a new photograph stuck to its surface. “So, who’s this then?”

Harold glanced back over his monitors. “Catherine Parker. Physical therapist… with a side project in running Argentine tango classes for people with mobility issues.”

John’s eyebrows furrowed and his lips parted slightly in that way they did when he was trying to picture something. “...tango?” he said, finally.

“Yes, it’s supposedly very good for improving balance and regaining confidence in movement,” Harold replied, covering up his amusement with a dry deadpan. “I took the liberty of booking myself into one of her classes this evening.”

John nodded slowly, then frowned. “Won’t you need a dance partner?”

Harold looked innocently back up at him, then followed John’s hopeful gaze towards the door, where Shaw had not so much entered as materialised in the vague vicinity of Bear, and was busy fussing the dog vigorously. She stared back at them. “Don’t look at me.”

Harold raised his eyebrows at John, who gave a defeated sigh and shrugged. “What the hell. Could be fun.”

“I’m much obliged, Mr Reese. Miss Shaw, would you mind checking out Ms Parker’s apartment while class is in session?”

“Sure thing, boss.” Shaw smiled sweetly at him and walked off, an excited Bear in tow. Harold watched them leave with a sigh. 

“Now, let’s see if we can find out what Ms Parker has gotten herself mixed up in…”

***

There were few situations in which John Reese managed to look entirely uncomfortable, but this was one of them. Trademark suit jacket hung up to one side, he scanned the dance studio and fiddled with his shirt cuffs. “Finch, aside from our friend Catherine, there’s no one in this room less than a decade older than you are,” he murmured, leaning in towards him.

“And what demographic is most likely to have mobility issues, Mr Reese?” Harold replied, chiding softly. “Don’t be rude. Just try to relax and enjoy yourself.” He gave John’s shoulder a friendly pat and turned back to the room, noting that while John had been exaggerating a little, he had caught the admiring attention of a number of older ladies. He made a mental note of it as something to potentially leverage later.

Catherine beamed at them as she clapped her hands to begin the lesson.

“All right, welcome everybody!” she chimed, tucking blonde hair behind her ear. “Now, before anything else, tango starts out as a walk. So, on your own or holding the hand of your partner, we’re just going to warm up by walking around in a circle. I’m going to put on some music, and while you’re walking, try to feel the rhythm and let it inform your steps. Everything else we learn is going to build on that. Got it? Let’s go!”

John gave Harold an unimpressed look as the room filled with the arresting strain of an accordion. “Happy walking, Finch,” he said, before stepping away around the room. Harold sighed and followed. He could probably count on Mr Reese to be focussed on literally anything else right now, so he allowed himself to let go and become absorbed in the music. The beat was slow, unhurried. He began to try to ease his stiff gait into something a little more even.

There was a surprising amount one could learn about walking when it came to dance, on breath and posture and how to shift one’s weight. Catherine was a gentle and patient instructor. It was a good twenty minutes before the class attendees found themselves finally facing their partner.

“I hope you’re not bored out of your mind, John,” Harold said in a low voice. “I’m afraid you’ll have to humour this a little longer.”

John shrugged. “I managed to bluejack her phone, and plant two cameras and a microphone in the studio without anyone nothing. And caught about eleven people’s names.”

“I’m impressed, Mr Reese.”

John moved forward as Catherine began to describe a tango embrace. He placed his hand on Harold’s back, just below his shoulder blades; Harold placed his own arm over John’s, resting his hand a little above the other’s bicep. 

“Have you done this before?” he murmured, as John took his other hand, closing the circle.

“A little ballroom dancing. Not tango though.”

Harold nodded, not sure where to look. It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable in John’s presence, exactly—quite the opposite, in fact. Over the time they’d known each other, they’d somehow become at ease in each others’ personal space, be it times when Harold would help patch John up after an injury, or John’s habit of a friendly clap on the shoulder when he was in a good mood. In fact, John seemed to find touch comforting, as if by briefly brushing his fingers across Harold’s arm or shoulder or back he could reassure himself that Harold was present and real. For Harold’s part, he humoured it at first, then found he enjoyed it, the almost subconscious checking in with each other that occurred on physical contact.

This, though, this was different. The intentionality of it, the way they connected as their hands touched each other like high bandwidth data cables. How steadily and gently John was holding him. And John was no longer scanning the room, but was instead intently focussed on him, and he wasn’t sure that he could meet that gaze. Harold opted instead for glancing at his feet. 

“Now, we’re going to practice that walking together,” came Catherine’s voice. “Leaders forward, followers backwards, and then the other way around once you reach the end of the room. Take it steady—feel the connection between you and your partner, let it help you move together.”

“I got you,” John whispered, as the music started up again. Harold just nodded, and John waited until he’d shifted his weight onto one leg before stepping forward.

It took a little chaos—John stepping too far, Harold missing the timing, several stumbles and near-collisions—before they settled into it—John leaning forward, Harold taking the cue to shift onto his back foot, sliding the other behind him ready for the next step as John moved into the space he had vacated. And again, and again. Keeping his weight on one leg each time was awkward—he could feel his limbs threatening to twist beneath him, unsteady in the knowledge that without John there holding him he could so easily topple. His lower spine and hips complained at the change in usual motion. He flinched. 

“Does it hurt?” John’s concern was quiet. 

Shift, step back. Wobble, but John was an anchor, hard to fall from. Shift, step back. Harold gave a small sigh. “I’m in some level of pain on a near constant basis, Mr Reese,” he replied softly, the words drawn out of him reluctantly, like a confession. “This is just… I want my body to do what I want it to. It’s a little harder than I’d like, that’s all.”

John nodded, silent once more. Harold couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of him—every move he made, both here and out in the field, was under his complete control. His perfect marksmanship, his ability to get across a room in a matter of moments when he needed to, his mastery over his facial expressions. And now here, he had absorbed the instructions and was moving, well, perfectly—controlled and steady, feet precisely where they needed to be.

**[Written portion of fic ends here. Remaining fic notes are below, if you're interested.]**

Halfway through lesson there’s a break, John leaves to case local area and take a breather.

Ladies express interest in Harold’s partner when he takes a drink, Harold makes some polite talk but sits down.

Catherine comes to say hello, he tells her that John is shy and he appreciates him doing this for him.

She replies that they look like they have a nice partnership. 

By end of the lesson, they have a passable eight-step.

\---

After Catherine returns to her apartment, Shaw debriefs the others on what she found (anything?) and they break in to check out her phys therapy office during the night.

John returns to find Harold practicing dance moves, interjects to join him, to Harold’s consternation (but he likes it really).

Discover very little suspicious but they find her dance lesson schedule and invoice for the room hire - there’s an extra hour. It’s immediately after a dance session, so they go.

Harold is becoming more confident in moving, and John is hilariously stiff.

\---

(What even is Catherine’s deal anyway? It takes two to tango - she is at least partly involved in it herself, against her better judgement.

She hires out the dance studio an extra hour each week on behalf of a friend, who is using it to hide drugs which he is selling on or something like that)

\---

Emotional arc of the story: goes from Harold being awkward and jealous of John’s control -> John is stiff and uncomfortable and less willing to take risks where Harold is involved -> with other partners John becomes a more relaxed and creative leader -> Harold is too inscrutable and won’t open up to make a connection with other leaders or followers -> but he finds a way to relax with John

John is bad at taking the lead when it comes to Harold. Harold tells him that he’s amazing by himself, or when leading others out in the field - brilliant, precise, creative. John’s worried about working within Harold’s physical limits, but Harold trusts him. Tells him to think of it like those times he improvises out in the field, and Harold is scrambling to catch up, only this time it’s more fun for the both of them.

At the end of the mission, Catherine asks if they’ll keep coming to classes. Harold admits probably not, it wasn’t really working out for either of them. But it has impacted both of them

Being in the moment, in the flow, two people in perfect synchronisation.

**Author's Note:**

> As you can see from my notes, this one had an emotional/relational arc planned out, but I never settled on plot details for the case itself that I was entirely happy with. 
> 
> I've pretty much moved on from the Person of Interest fandom at this point. If I go back and rewatch it at some point in the next few years, it might be that I pick this one back up again, but I wouldn't say there's a high chance. I am happy to answer questions about it though!


End file.
